England opening batter Crawley has indicated he was not familiar with statements made by skipper Ben Stokes regarding the team environment not being "those lacking fortitude".
Stokes delivered this message in multiple conversations following his team's loss in the second match of the Ashes series against the Australians previously.
Ahead of the Adelaide Test, where England are staring at defeat with a match to spare, the captain noted he had allowed his message to "drift around" within the squad.
"I've done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done," remarked Stokes.
But, after Crawley scored a knock of 85 on the penultimate day in the third Test, he stated: "I missed those remarks."
"I didn't see and wasn't really looking out for it. Our approach is to take anything stated in the media with some skepticism," Crawley continued.
Raw Conversations and Steady Philosophy
The captain issued his "fragile individuals" observation subsequent to his side suffered a loss in the second Test to fall two matches behind.
The England squad afterwards went on a holiday to a Queensland resort between the second and the upcoming matches.
Prior to this match, he said his players had held "raw" talks and he had asked them to "show a bit of dog" in their effort to stay alive in the series.
Nevertheless, Crawley stated the messaging from the captain and head coach McCullum had stayed in line with their prior three years in leadership.
"It's been very positive, unchanged," noted the opener. "It's just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with great liberty. We believed we could do an extraordinary feat going into this game."
The Hosts Close of Rapid Ashes Triumph
The opener's dismissal on day four came during a crucial triple-strike by Australian spinner Lyon.
The spinner's three wickets in 20 deliveries – including the wickets of Brook and Stokes himself – left England six down for 207 in pursuit of a notional target of 435.
Consequently, Australia require just four more wickets on Sunday's final day to secure an unassailable 3-0 advantage with three matches played.
Defeat would prolong England's winless run in this country to 18 Tests and ensure a fourth successive away Ashes series defeat.
This series is set to be decided in only eleven days of cricket – with England fell the initial matches in two and four days each.
The last time 1921, when the Australians completed victory in England in eight days, has the outcome of the urn been determined so quickly. The hosts have also won in 11 days on two other occasions in the modern era.
"This is disappointing," said Crawley. "Our goal was to regain the Ashes and now we are staring down the barrel at this point."
"There will still be plenty to play for and we will certainly approach it like that," he continued.
"The challenge has been tough. Australia is a formidable team. It was inevitably hard touring here against them. They entered as the front-runners and have demonstrated their quality."
Ollie Pope's Position In Question
Although Crawley's performance in the third Test probably answers questions about his immediate future in the side, Pope appears under threat for his spot in the Melbourne Test starting December 26th.
The Surrey batsman was out for 17 runs in the team's second innings on Saturday, adding to his poor record versus Australia.
Across sixteen Ashes knocks, the Surrey man has never made a half-century and boasts an average of 17.62.
Only one other England player since 1900 – Dennis Amiss – has featured an equal number of innings in the top order in Ashes Tests and recorded a lower average.
But, the opener insisted any notion Pope is being scrutinised comes from "you guys" – referring to the journalists – "not inside the camp."
"The squad is fully aware of his considerable talent," said he. "Ollie has enjoyed a good year to be frank."
"He has produced some really good knocks. It is noise from the outside. There is no chat like that regarding Pope in the camp," he concluded.
